Written Answers Tuesday 15 November 2005

Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many discharges there have been with mental and behavioural disorders due to alcohol in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board and deprivation quintile.

Lewis Macdonald: The information requested is published by ISD and copies are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 37955).

  Figures on discharges from general acute and psychiatric hospitals with a diagnosis of mental and behavioural disorders due to the use of alcohol during 1997-98 to 2001-02 is shown in table 1. Complete data on psychiatric discharges is unavailable for 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05. Table 2 shows the information requested from 2000-01 to 2004-05 for discharges from general acute hospitals only.

Alcohol Misuse

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many discharges there have been with degeneration of the nervous system due to alcohol in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board and deprivation quintile.

Lewis Macdonald: The information requested is published by ISD and copies are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 37956).

  Figures on the number of discharges from general acute hospitals with a diagnosis of degeneration of the nervous system due to alcohol during 2000-01 to 2004-05 is shown at table 1.

Blood Transfusion Service

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it can accurately answer questions on the infection of haemophiliacs with blood products, given the statement by the UK Government that some relevant documents have been destroyed.

Mr Andy Kerr: The documents relevant to this issue were retained by the then Scottish Home and Health Department. The files covering the period in question are currently being reviewed under the Freedom of Information legislation and documents will be released in due course.

  It should be noted that because the production of plasma products was different north and south of the border, the issues are not the same and that therefore the relevant documents for Scotland are Scottish documents.

Blood Transfusion Service

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will reassure itself of the accuracy of information from the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service on the infection of haemophiliacs, given the statement by the UK Government in respect of the destruction of documents.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service has confirmed that all relevant documents were held in Scotland and is not aware of any lost documents. If any Scottish documents held by the Department of Health in London were subsequently destroyed, it would only have been their copies which were destroyed

Blood Transfusion Service

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what data or documents it has provided to the Department of Health’s internal review in respect of haemophilia blood products and whether it has been able to provide sufficient documentation to that review, given the statement by the department that some documents have been destroyed.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Department of Health commissioned a review in 2002 to clarify the facts surrounding the drive for UK self-sufficiency in blood products in the 1970’s and 1980’s. If requested, the Executive provided copies of all relevant documents which it holds. However, were any Scottish documents held by the Department of Health subsequently destroyed, it would only have been their copies which were destroyed.

Council Tax

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-17769 and S2W-17771 by George Lyon on 1 August 2005, when it will publish a summary of responses to the consultation on local tax liability of residents in housing support accommodation.

George Lyon: Those who responded to the consultation expressed differing views on a preferred route, including those within the housing support sector. We are currently considering the way forward on this issue and will make an announcement, and publish a summary of responses, in due course.

Council Tax

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-17769 and S2W-17771 by George Lyon on 1 August 2005, whether it will announce its conclusions on the council tax liability of individual rooms in housing support accommodation in sufficient time for these conclusions to be implemented by local authorities for (a) the remainder of 2005-06 and (b) 2006-07.

George Lyon: Those who responded to the consultation expressed differing views on a preferred route, including those within the housing support sector. We are currently considering the way forward and will make an announcement in due course.

Dentistry

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive from which European nations it has made efforts to attract dentists.

Lewis Macdonald: Responsibility for recruiting dentists lies with the health boards and independent practitioners. The Scottish Executive is aware that health boards have in the past made efforts to recruit from outside Scotland, such as Northern Ireland, Eire, Sweden and Finland.

  The Scottish Executive has encouraged recruitment through a range of recruitment and retention incentives. The contract for dentists from Poland was an innovative development-led by the Scottish Executive Health Department. The Executive will review how better collaboration between health boards and the Scottish Executive Health Department could facilitate similar recruitment initiatives.

Food Supplements

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current situation is regarding the distribution of food supplements, in light of recent court challenges in the United Kingdom on the issue and the recent introduction in the UK Parliament of the Food Supplements (European Communities Act 1972 Disapplication) Bill by William Cash MP.

Lewis Macdonald: The Food Standards Agency Scotland has advised me that the Food Supplements (Scotland) Regulations 2003 came into force on 1 August 2005 and each Scottish food authority shall enforce and execute these Regulations in its area.

Gaelic

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to promote Gaelic language and culture.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage local authorities to provide and enhance Gaelic-medium education.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Gaelic-medium schools there have been in each local education authority area in each of the last 10 years and whether it is expected that any will close or new ones will open.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive is committed to securing the status of the Gaelic language and has taken steps to ensure that the use and understanding of Gaelic is promoted across Scotland. The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 creates a statutory body, Bòrd na Gàidhlig, with the functions of promoting the use and understanding of the Gaelic language, Gaelic culture and Gaelic education. Bòrd na Gàidhlig will prepare and submit to ministers for approval a National Gaelic Language Plan setting out strategies for promoting and enabling the use of the Gaelic language. The Bòrd will also work with appropriate public bodies in Scotland to promote the use and understanding of the Gaelic language at a local level.

  The Scottish Executive supports the development of Gaelic-medium education through the Specific Grant scheme. This scheme provides additional support totalling £3.8 million in 2005-06 to local authorities to enable the opening of new Gaelic-medium classes and to enable existing Gaelic medium-education provision to expand. Two expert groups have been established to make recommendations to ministers on key areas which need to be addressed to ensure the continued growth in provision of Gaelic-medium education. A Teachers’ Action Group under the chairmanship of Matthew MacIver has made recommendations to ministers on the recruitment and retention of Gaelic-medium teachers. An ICT delivery group under the chairmanship of Bruce Robertson is addressing the expansion of the Gaelic-medium secondary curriculum.

  The Scottish Executive also provides £8.5 million to support Gaelic broadcasting and is actively engaged in discussions with key interests in an effort to identify a funding solution that will result in the establishment of a Gaelic digital TV service.

  The following table sets out the number of schools with Gaelic-medium classes in the last ten years. This information is not held for each education authority area. We are not aware of any classes that are expected to close but we are aware that Highland Council, Perth and Kinross and North Ayrshire are giving consideration to opening new Gaelic classes.

  

School Year
1995-96
1996-97
1997-98
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05


Primary Schools with Gaelic Classes
50
52
55
56
59
60
59
58
60
61

Health

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many returns were received by the Common Services Agency in respect of the prescription of methadone in 2004-05.

Hugh Henry: Methadone hydrochloride can be used to treat cough in terminal disease, as an analgesic and as an adjunct in the treatment of opioid dependence.

  The following table shows the number of prescribed items and the gross ingredient cost for all methadone prescribed items dispensed in the community in 2004-05. The cost given is that before the addition of any pharmacy fees and the deduction of any discount and prescription charges.

  These data refer to prescribed items dispensed by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors and do not take into account methadone dispensed by hospitals or hospital-based clinics.

  Methadone Hydrochloride – Prescribed Items 2004-05

  

Year Ending
31 March
Number Prescribed
Items
Gross Ingredient
Cost (£)


2005
411,399
5,627,502

Health

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many assaults there were on hospital staff on hospital premises in each of the last five years, broken down by hospital.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information asked for is not collected centrally in the form requested. There is data available on violence and aggression related incidents available on the Scottish Health Statistics website under workforce statistics, www.isdscotland.org/workforce .

  Section A gives details of the overall summary of workforce statistics in NHS Scotland. Table A8 has a breakdown of the number of occupational injuries by type of organisation and staff group which includes the number of incidents related to violence and aggression. Latest figures are at 31 March 2004.

Health

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources are available for allergy services.

Lewis Macdonald: This information is not held centrally. NHS boards are given unified budgets, increased by an average of 7.6% in the current financial year, from which they would be expected to meet the costs of treatment for people with allergies.

Health

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what drugs are available for the treatment of medical conditions on the NHS (a) in Scotland but not in England and Wales and (b) in England and Wales but not in Scotland and what medical conditions each drug can be used to treat.

Mr Andy Kerr: When a medicine receives a UK marketing authorisation, either from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency or the European Medicines Agency, it can be prescribed on the NHS unless it is subject to a direction by Scottish ministers under section 17N(6) of the NHS (Scotland) Act 1978.

  However, NHS Scotland is expected to await the advice of the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) before making a new medicine routinely available. SMC conducts rapid and careful appraisals of medicines using pre-launch data and provides its advice to NHS Scotland as soon as possible after the launch. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), who advise the NHS in England and Wales conducts a longer assessment of medicines based on evidence of use. In practice, this means that NICE advice on medicines will issue approximately 12 to 18 months after the SMC advice.

  Details of all medicines submitted to the SMC can be found at www.scottishmedicines.org including whether they were accepted for use, accepted for restricted use or not recommended for use.

Health

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) accident and emergency, (b) intensive therapy, (c) high dependency, (d) acute medical receiving and (e) acute surgical receiving units there (i) have been in each of the last five years, (ii) are and (iii) will be if NHS board reorganisation plans are carried out.

Mr Andy Kerr: The number of locations with intensive care units and an accident and emergency service for each financial year since 2001 is shown in the table. Information on the number of acute medical/surgical receiving units is not centrally available.

  

 
Intensive Care Unit
High Dependency Unit
Accident and Emergency Service


2001
27
n/a
97


2002
28
n/a
97


2003
27
n/a
95


2004
28
27
96


2005
28
30
95



  Source: ISD(S)1.

  NHS boards keep their services under review to ensure safety, quality and sustainability. If they want to propose major changes in services, they are obliged to consult on these and then submit their proposals to the minister for final decision.

Health

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a breakdown of the implementation dates of Agenda for Change in Scotland.

Mr Andy Kerr: Implementation of Agenda for Change is a large and complex exercise involving a range of processes, including matching over 140,000 NHS non-medical staff to new job profiles, carrying out local evaluations for staff that do not match to these profiles, and assimilating all staff onto their new Agenda for Change pay rates and allowances with backdating to October 2004. Following on from the matching and assimilation processes outlined above the new Agenda for Change Knowledge and Skills Framework will also be introduced.

  Well over 50% of matchable staff across NHSScotland have already been matched to job profiles and based on project plans prepared and submitted by health boards. I expect all nursing, midwifery, ancillary and allied health professional staff groups who match national job profiles to be job matched, consistency checked and the details passed to boards’ payroll departments for assimilation by the end of December.

  I expect all boards to complete assimilation of these staff onto the new pay scales as soon as possible after 31 December 2005, following which they will proceed without delay to carrying out the local evaluations of those staff who are not matchable to national profiles.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been (a) prosecuted and (b) fined in connection with an offence directly relating to the illegal use of petrol or diesel in a motor vehicle in each of the last five years, broken down by police force area.

Colin Boyd QC: Information is not available at the level of detail requested.

  The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s Case Management Database records details of the charges against each accused in terms of the specific common law or statutory offence that is alleged to have been committed. In the case of illegal use or petrol or diesel in a motor vehicle, the relevant offence is usually the offence of evasion of duty under section 170(2)(a) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979. That offence also covers other offences relating to the evasion of duty (e.g. evasion of duty on cigarettes or alcohol) and it is not possible to determine from the information held on the database the nature of the goods involved in each case. The following table provides details of all charges since April 2002 which led to prosecutions for offences under section 170(2)(a) of the 1979 Act.

  Charges Prosecuted under Section 170(2)(a) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 19791

  

Police Force Area
Disposal
2002-032
2003-04
2004-05


Lothian and Borders
No Further Proceedings
0
0
3


Strathclyde
Charge still "active"
0
0
1


 
Guilty - Imprisonment
0
0
1


 
Not Guilty
1
0
0


 
No Further Proceedings
1
0
0



  Notes:

  1. The information in this table has been extracted from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s Case Management Database. The database is a live, operational database used to manage the processing of reports submitted to procurators fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies.

  2. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service completed an upgrade of its electronic case management system in April 2002. Only case records created after that date contain complete data which is capable of electronic analysis. If a Procurator Fiscal amends a charge submitted by a reporting agency the database will record details only of the amended charge.

Justice

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions there have been in the last five years for contraventions of Scottish building regulations, the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations or other relevant regulations or codes of practice in which the safety of the occupants of given premises were potentially or actually threatened by emissions of carbon monoxide.

Colin Boyd QC: Information is not available at the level of detail requested.

  The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s Case Management Database records details of the charges against each accused in terms of the specific common law or statutory offence that is alleged to have been committed. It is not possible to identify on the database cases involving a threat to the safety of occupants of premises caused by emissions of carbon monoxide as this does not constitute a specific offence and the database does not contain searchable information relating to the circumstances that gave rise to other relevant charges.

  The table below shows the total number of charges prosecuted by procurators fiscal where the charge involved any offence under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998.

  Charges Prosecuted under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 19981

  

Charge
2002-032
2003-04
2004-05


Regulation 12 - Not have competent workers
2
0
0


Regulation 35 - Work not safely maintained
1
1
0


Regulation 36(3)(b) - Fail to ensure safety check
1
0
0


Regulation 36(3)(c) - Fail to check safety record
1
0
0


Regulation 36(6)(b)(i) - Fail to display copy record
1
0
0



  Notes:

  1. The information in this table has been extracted from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s Case Management Database. The database is a live, operational database used to manage the processing of reports submitted to procurators fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies. The database is charge-based. The figures quoted therefore relate to the number of charges rather than the number of individuals charged or the number of incidents that gave rise to such charges.

  2. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service completed an upgrade of its electronic case management system in April 2002. Only case records created after that date contain complete data which is capable of electronic analysis.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions for (a) reckless and (b) deliberate transmission of sexually transmitted diseases have been brought to court and how many succeeded in each year since 1997.

Colin Boyd QC: This information is not available. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s Case Management Database records details of the charges against each accused in terms of the specific common law or statutory offence that is alleged to have been committed. Conduct of the type referred to in the question could be charged as rape or assault where the victim did not consent to sexual intercourse or culpable and reckless conduct where the victim consented. However, these charges are also used to cover a wide range of other conduct and cases involving reckless or deliberate transmission of sexually transmitted diseases cannot be separately identified in the database.

NHS Equipment

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients who have waited longer than 20 weeks for (a) an MRI and (b) a CT scan at a hospital run by an NHS board will be offered the choice to be treated elsewhere.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information is not held centrally in the form requested.

  In June this year, I announced a maximum nine-weeks waiting time for eight key diagnostic tests, including MRI and CT scans. This commitment will come into effect from the end of 2007.

  Meantime, NHS boards are working to reduce diagnostic waiting times for patients through service redesign, investment in capacity and more efficient working to ensure that the target is met. Many NHS boards are making use of the MRI and CT scanning services provided by the Golden Jubilee National Hospital.

NHS Equipment

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the NHS outsources MRI scans to the private sector and, if so, how many scans have been outsourced in each year since 2000 and what the current waiting times are for MRI scans.

Mr Andy Kerr: In June this year, I announced a maximum nine-weeks waiting time for eight key diagnostic tests, including MRI scans, from the end of 2007. NHS boards are working to reduce waiting times for patients so that this commitment is met, and are free to decide to purchase diagnostic services, including MRI scans, from independent healthcare providers where that benefits patients. Many NHS boards send patients for diagnostic services to the Golden Jubilee National Hospital. Information on the number of MRI scans provided to NHS patients by independent health care providers by NHS boards is not available.

  Information on waiting times for MRI scans is not collected centrally. The Health Department is currently working with the Information Services Division and NHSScotland to improve the collection and analysis of information about diagnostic waiting to enable NHS boards to manage, report and improve performance against the Executive’s commitment.

NHS Expenditure

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent by each NHS board in each of the last five years on (a) administration and (b) management, expressed as (i) a percentage of total budget and (ii) per head of population.

Mr Andy Kerr: Administrative and management staff make an invaluable contribution to the operation of the health service, organising services in a way which provides equitable access to the highest possible levels of sustainable quality care and ensuring that the patient’s journey through the system is made as smooth as possible, for example through effective management of patient records and efficient scheduling of appointments.

  Administration

  (a) The amount spent by each NHS board in each of the last five years on administration, expressed both as (i) a percentage of total budget, and (ii) per head of population was:

  

 
 
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03


(£000)
%
Cost Per Head (£)
(£000)
%
Cost Per Head (£)
(£000)
%
Cost Per Head 
(£)


Argyll and Clyde
4,317
1.02%
10.19
4,228
1.03%
9.98
4,388
1.01%
10.43


Ayrshire and Arran
3,185
0.88%
8.53
3,267
0.92%
8.75
2,257
0.59%
6.13


Borders
1,599
1.50%
14.96
1,636
1.61%
15.30
1,539
1.40%
14.39


Dumfries and Galloway
1,808
1.18%
12.40
1,844
1.24%
12.65
1,277
0.80%
8.64


Fife
2,862
0.92%
8.17
3,327
1.09%
9.49
2,583
0.80%
7.39


Forth Valley
2,514
0.96%
9.04
2,605
1.04%
9.37
1,888
0.70%
6.76


Grampian
4,217
0.88%
8.06
4,355
0.95%
8.32
3,456
0.69%
6.57


Glasgow
7,461
0.77%
8.25
8,043
0.85%
8.89
9,449
0.91%
10.88


Highland
2,827
1.34%
13.55
2,875
1.40%
13.78
2,824
1.27%
13.52


Lanarkshire
3,681
0.73%
6.55
3,919
0.76%
6.97
2,852
0.53%
5.16


Lothian
6,405
0.89%
8.17
6,747
0.94%
8.61
4,486
0.60%
5.76


Orkney
709
3.09%
36.40
765
3.50%
39.27
589
2.47%
30.65


Shetland
645
2.34%
28.74
619
2.29%
27.58
611
2.02%
27.82


Tayside
3,632
0.86%
9.42
4,683
1.11%
12.15
2,721
0.61%
7.00


Western Isles
1,313
3.29%
48.31
1,562
3.82%
57.47
1,446
3.23%
54.67


 
47,175
 
 
50,475
 
 
42,366
 
 



  

 
2003-04
2004-05


(£000)
%
Cost Per Head 
(£)
(£000)
%
Cost Per Head
(£)


Argyll and Clyde
4,913
1.04%
11.78
5,588
1.06%
n/a


Ayrshire and Arran
2,747
0.66%
7.48
2,938
0.58%
n/a


Borders
1,427
1.15%
13.18
1,592
1.08%
n/a


Dumfries and Galloway
1,777
0.99%
12.07
1,898
0.89%
n/a


Fife
3,738
1.03%
10.62
4,306
1.01%
n/a


Forth Valley
2,165
0.75%
7.74
2,619
0.77%
n/a


Grampian
4,140
0.78%
7.91
3,578
0.59%
n/a


Glasgow
12,410
1.13%
14.32
11,721
0.92%
n/a


Highland
3,065
1.25%
14.66
4,858
1.60%
n/a


Lanarkshire
4,028
0.71%
7.28
4,380
0.66%
n/a


Lothian
5,010
0.54%
6.42
4,168
0.44%
n/a


Orkney
626
2.44%
32.42
640
2.06%
n/a


Shetland
641
2.02%
29.31
736
2.04%
n/a


Tayside
3,909
0.83%
10.11
5,162
0.94%
n/a


Western Isles
1,522
3.24%
58.31
2,112
3.91%
n/a


 
52,118
 
 
56,296
 
 



  Administration

  The boards’ spending on administration costs are taken from note 6 of the published annual accounts for each respective financial year.

  The guidance issued on administration costs is based on the Code of Practice for Best Value Accounting for Local Authorities, which focuses on costs of the boards’ strategic functions that are not included in the cost of service provision. Expenditure will include the costs associated with the board’s responsibilities for the planning and commissioning of health care for its resident population (such as statutory reporting, strategic planning, commissioning of health care and financial projections), but not those costs associated with the provision of health care and other non-clinical services provided by the board.

  Budgets

  The total budget of each board is their Revenue Resource Limit (RRL) which is reported in their annual accounts.

  In 2000-01, before resource budgeting was introduced to the Scottish Executive, boards did not have a RRL therefore for 2000-01 their budget has been assumed to be their Total Revenue Allocation which was also reported in their Annual Accounts.

  Population

  The figures for the population of each board area is taken from Report 086 of the Cost Book, no figures are yet available for 2004-05.

  Management

  (b) The amount spent by each NHS board in each of the last five years on management, expressed both as (i) a percentage of total budget, and (ii) per head of population was:

  

 
2000-01
2001-02


(£000)
%
Cost Per Head (£)
(£000)
%
Cost Per Head (£)


Argyll and Clyde
22,884
5.41%
54.04
23,896
5.80%
56.43


Ayrshire and Arran
18,632
5.17%
49.90
20,259
5.73%
54.26


Borders
6,753
6.34%
63.17
7,241
7.11%
67.74


Dumfries and Galloway
8,662
5.67%
59.41
8,939
5.99%
61.31


Fife
16,066
5.14%
45.85
19,397
6.37%
55.36


Forth Valley
11,828
4.52%
42.55
12,637
5.04%
45.46


Grampian
29,609
6.19%
56.57
31,862
6.93%
60.88


Glasgow
72,357
7.45%
80.01
74,003
7.78%
81.83


Highland
10,263
4.86%
49.20
12,041
5.88%
57.72


Lanarkshire
33,315
6.61%
59.28
35,659
6.96%
63.45


Lothian
48,099
6.65%
61.38
47,758
6.65%
60.95


Orkney
885
3.85%
45.43
1,076
4.92%
55.24


Shetland
872
3.16%
38.86
1,152
4.25%
51.34


Tayside
35,005
8.29%
90.80
30,434
7.19%
78.95


Western Isles
1,947
4.88%
71.63
1,992
4.87%
73.29


 
317,177
 
 
328,346
 
 



  

 
2002-03
2003-04


(£000)
%
Cost Per Head (£)
(£000)
%
Cost Per Head (£)


Argyll and Clyde
25,680
5.90%
61.04
25,548
5.42%
61.27


Ayrshire and Arran
22,454
5.89%
60.97
24,387
5.86%
66.42


Borders
7,882
7.18%
73.70
7,790
6.26%
71.94


Dumfries and Galloway
9,212
5.77%
62.34
7,438
4.13%
50.53


Fife
19,142
5.93%
54.74
22,823
6.31%
64.85


Forth Valley
15,764
5.85%
56.45
17,285
5.97%
61.80


Grampian
34,923
6.98%
66.41
35,849
6.78%
68.49


Glasgow
81,850
7.91%
94.28
92,369
8.38%
106.62


Highland
12,663
5.70%
60.61
13,775
5.63%
65.88


Lanarkshire
36,903
6.82%
66.70
40,907
7.22%
73.91


Lothian
57,599
7.70%
73.94
58,732
6.36%
75.30


Orkney
1,260
5.29%
65.56
1,245
4.85%
64.48


Shetland
1,280
4.24%
58.29
1,556
4.90%
71.13


Tayside
33,260
7.50%
85.56
34,813
7.36%
90.06


Western Isles
2,037
4.56%
77.01
2,355
5.01%
90.21


 
361,909
 
 
386,871
 
 



  Management

  The figures for Management costs are taken from Scottish Financial Return (SFR) 5.2, which is completed by each hospital and submitted to the NHS National Service Scotland Information and Statistics Division for publication in the Cost Book.

  The above costs report the administrative and management costs of running all hospitals in NHSScotland. The range of support services in a hospital which are considered management and administrative include:

  Hospital Medical/Paramedical Administrative Support;

  Senior Nursing and Hospital Administrative Support;

  Medical Records;

  Hospital administration, including senior management, and

  Administrative agency staff and agency services.

  The figures for 2004-05 have not been published.

NHS Expenditure

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-8040 by Malcolm Chisholm on 24 May 2004, what the cost of NHS administration was in (a) 2003-04 and (b) 2004-05 and whether this includes NHS managerial staff and, if not, whether it will provide similar information for managerial staff in each year from 1995 to 2005.

Mr Andy Kerr: Hospital management and administration expenditure for NHS Board areas for 2003-04 was:

  

 
2003-04
(£000)


Argyll and Clyde
25,548


Ayrshire and Arran
24,387


Borders
7,790


Dumfries and Galloway
7,438


Fife
22,823


Forth Valley
17,285


Grampian
35,849


Glasgow
92,369


Highland
13,775


Lanarkshire
40,907


Lothian
58,732


Orkney
1,245


Shetland
1,556


Tayside
34,813


Western Isles
2,355


State Hospital
2,905


 
389,777



  Senior Management costs are included in the above figures.

  The figures for 2004-05 have not been published.

  Management costs are taken from Scottish Financial Return (SFR) 5.2, which is completed by each hospital and submitted to the NHS National Service Scotland Information and Statistics Division for publication in the Cost Book. The classification for hospital management and administration expenses includes:

  Medical: Hospital Medical/Paramedical Administrative Support;

  Nursing: Senior Nursing and Hospital Administrative Support;

  Medical Records;

  General: Hospital administration, including senior management, and

  Agency: Administrative agency staff and agency services.

NHS Expenditure

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has reviewed and approved the financial plans for NHS Western Isles for 2005-06 and beyond.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive Health Department has received a draft financial plan from NHS Western Isles in relation to 2005-06 and the following four financial years, which the department has reviewed and provided feedback on.

  The final version of the plan is expected on 18 November and colleagues from the department have been engaging with NHS Western Isles to ensure that the plan is as robust as possible; departmental approval will be dependent upon the submission satisfactorily demonstrating a return to financial balance within the lifetime of the plan.

NHS Expenditure

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what patient outcome-oriented objectives have been set for NHS Western Isles for future years.

Mr Andy Kerr: The same performance objectives are set for all health boards in Scotland, covering a wide range of patient–oriented issues. Currently, principal objectives are set out in Building a Better Scotland , in October 2004 and Fair to All, Personal to Each published in December 2004.

NHS Expenditure

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how confident it is that NHS Western Isles will meet its outcome and financial objectives and what additional steps are being taken to ensure that these objectives will be achieved.

Mr Andy Kerr: I conducted the annual review of NHS Western Isles on 12 September in Stornoway from which it was clear that the board has delivered in 2004-05 a high-standard of patient care, and has substantially improved its standards of staff and clinical governance. I expressed disappointment about the qualification of its accounts for the previous year and was personally assured by the chair of the board that the board’s financial management had already been radically improved. The Health Department is in close and regular touch with the board to ensure that the good progress, which has been made, is maintained.

NHS Expenditure

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the NHS budget is used for preventative rather than curative purposes.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is not held centrally.

NHS Expenditure

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its rating is of the current performance of NHS Western Isles.

Mr Andy Kerr: I conducted the annual review of NHS Western Isles on 12 September in Stornoway from which it was clear that the board has delivered in 2004-05 a high-standard of patient care, and has substantially improved its standards of staff and clinical governance. I expressed disappointment about the qualification of its accounts for the previous year and was personally assured by the chair of the board that the board’s financial management had already been radically improved. The board is making significant progress in service redesign to meet the needs of patients and I expect it will achieve, in the coming year, continuing improvement.

NHS Hospitals

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many adverse incidents and near-misses were reported in NHS hospitals in each year since 1999; how much this cost in extra days spent in hospital by patients recovering from medical errors; how many errors went unreported, and how many deaths were attributed by NHS boards to staff errors.

Mr Andy Kerr: Every NHS board in Scotland has arrangements in place to collect information on critical incidents and these are analysed locally to promote learning and reduce the risk of recurrence. This information is not collected centrally but can be obtained by contacting NHS boards directly. NHS Quality Improvement Scotland are currently reviewing these arrangements and will report later this year.

  Prior to the development of NHS Quality Improvement Scotland both the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland generic standards and the Clinical Negligence and Other Risks Indemnity Scheme risk management standards set criteria for each health board and trust organisation which required them to have an incident reporting scheme.

  Among the safety audits that NHSScotland participates in are – Scottish Audit of Surgical Mortality (SASM), Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH), and the Serious Hazards Of Transfusion (SHOT).

NHS Staff

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual NHS staff costs were in each of the last five years, expressed also as a percentage of each NHS board’s total budget and showing year-on-year changes, broken down by board.

Mr Andy Kerr: We are committed to NHSScotland being an exemplar employer. Enhancements to staff terms and conditions provide benefits to staff by recognising their contribution through fair pay, greater flexibility and improved development opportunities; they also help deliver benefits to patients by creating a more motivated and better skilled workforce, and a platform for new working practices that can drive more responsive patient-centred services.

  The annual NHS staff costs over the last five years for each NHS board, expressed also as a percentage of each board’s total budget, was as follows:

  NHS Boards

  

 
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03


Staff Costs
(£000)
% of Budget
Staff Costs
(£000)
% of Budget
Staff Costs
(£000)
% of Budget


Argyll and Clyde
196,389
46%
210,323
51%
232,522
53%


Ayrshire and Arran
160,343
45%
170,860
48%
187,936
49%


Borders
51,103
48%
53,541
53%
58,083
53%


Dumfries and Galloway
72,928
48%
75,442
51%
80,803
51%


Fife
135,664
43%
142,386
47%
159,195
49%


Forth Valley
121,359
46%
128,107
51%
137,829
51%


Grampian
246,319
51%
259,194
56%
285,639
57%


Glasgow
548,569
56%
582,413
61%
649,892
63%


Highland
103,652
49%
112,585
55%
125,626
57%


Lanarkshire
206,465
41%
220,507
43%
241,024
45%


Lothian
402,324
56%
427,897
60%
471,172
63%


Orkney
8,781
38%
9,564
44%
10,982
46%


Shetland
10,112
37%
10,818
40%
11,633
39%


Tayside
240,117
57%
250,924
59%
276,133
62%


Western Isles
16,365
41%
17,318
42%
20,165
45%


Total
2,520,490
 
2,671,879
 
2,948,634
 



  

 
 
 
2003-04
2004-05


Staff Costs
(£000)
% of Budget
Staff Costs
(£000)
% of Budget


Argyll and Clyde
250,193
53%
283,828
54%


Ayrshire and Arran
205,796
49%
237,057
47%


Borders
65,828
53%
73,650
50%


Dumfries and Galloway
87,744
49%
102,464
48%


Fife
172,915
48%
203,255
48%


Forth Valley
155,002
54%
172,447
51%


Grampian
312,267
59%
356,959
59%


Glasgow
733,215
67%
815,872
64%


Highland
140,083
57%
168,059
55%


Lanarkshire
264,719
47%
304,685
46%


Lothian
522,475
57%
588,316
62%


Orkney
11,446
45%
14,680
47%


Shetland
12,775
40%
16,366
45%


Tayside
306,683
65%
344,777
63%


Western Isles
21,673
46%
25,179
47%


Total
3,262,814
 
3,707,594
 



  NHS Special Health Boards

  

 
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03


Staff Costs
(£000)
% of Budget
Staff Costs
(£000)
% of Budget
Staff Costs
(£000)
% of Budget


Golden Jubilee
-
 
-
 
11,429
67%


NHS Health Scotland
1,805
18%
1,963
16%
2,433
18%


Mental Welfare Commission
1,164
74%
1,291
68%
1,539
71%


NHS Education Scotland
5,769
4%
7,108
5%
10,975
6%


NHS National Services Scotland
57,171
35%
63,043
38%
69,567
39%


Quality Improvement Scotland
613
23%
1,716
36%
2,635
35%


Scottish Ambulance Service
63,954
66%
68,017
66%
74,784
67%


State Hospital
14,526
71%
15,600
69%
16,769
70%


NHS 24
 
 
1,249
14%
11,454
44%


Specials Total
145,002
 
159,987
 
201,585
 



  

 
2003-04
2004-05


Staff Costs
(£000)
% of Budget
Staff Cost
s(£000)
% of Budget


Golden Jubilee
 18,589 
65%
 22,184 
67%


NHS Health Scotland
 3,704 
27%
 3,636 
21%


Mental Welfare Commission
 1,857 
73%
 2,312 
54%


NHS Education Scotland
 12,872 
6%
 15,069 
5%


NHS National Services Scotland
 74,405 
38%
 92,407 
41%


Quality Improvement Scotland
 3,517 
34%
 5,245 
43%


Scottish Ambulance Service
 82,861 
69%
 102,882 
72%


State Hospital
 17,926 
67%
 20,915 
65%


NHS 24
 20,464 
53%
 27,202 
58%


Specials Total
 236,195 
 
 291,852 
 



  Reason for Increase

  A range of factors impact upon staff costs. These include increases in staff numbers (which have been significant in recent years), annual uplifts to staff pay, movement of staff up pay scales, temporary supplements to staff pay such a New Deal banding supplements for junior doctors, introduction of pay modernisation and the change in employers’ superannuation contributions from 5.5% of total pensionable salaries to 14% in April 2004.

  Staff Costs

  The boards’ expenditure on staff costs are taken from the staff costs note of the published annual accounts of the relevant NHS boards and trusts for each respective financial year.

  Budgets

  The total budget of each board is their Revenue Resource Limit (RRL) which is reported in their annual accounts.

  In 2000-01, before resource budgeting was introduced to the Scottish Executive, boards did not have a RRL. Their budget for 2000-01 has therefore been assumed to be their Total Revenue Cash Allocation which was also reported in their annual accounts.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) allergy specialists and (b) allergy specialist nurses there have been in each NHS board in each year since 1995.

Lewis Macdonald: Allergy was recognised for the first time by the Specialist Training Authority as constituting a related but distinct specialty in 1999. The effects of specialist training in this discipline will take time to be fully reflected in NHS provision.

  Most mild or moderate allergy symptoms are managed successfully in primary care.

  The majority of secondary care referrals are made to organ-based specialists such as ENT surgeons, chest physicians, dermatologists and gastroenterologists.

  Patients with severe, drug-resistant or life-threatening disease require expert allergy assessment at tertiary care level. These patients are seen by consultant immunologists who conduct a number of sessions in allergy per week.

  Latest statistics as at 30 September 2004 suggest that NHSScotland does not employ specific allergy nurse specialists. However, it is important to note that nurses work across a number of fields and as such clinical nurse specialists may work with patients presenting with allergy symptoms, the most likely group being dermatology nurse specialists.

  Information on staff in post - including clinical nurse specialists - in NHS Scotland is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce.